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[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 29, 2010)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 81832]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-32768]

[[Page 81832]]

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Part 301

[Docket No. APHIS-2010-0004]

Asian Longhorned Beetle; Quarantined Area and Regulated Articles

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Affirmation of interim rule as final rule.

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SUMMARY: We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim 
rule that amended the Asian longhorned beetle regulations by adding a 
portion of Worcester County, MA, to the list of quarantined areas and 
restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from that 
area. The interim rule also updated the list of regulated articles in 
order to reflect new information concerning host plants. The interim 
rule was necessary to prevent the artificial spread of Asian longhorned 
beetle to noninfested areas of the United States. As a result of the 
interim rule, the interstate movement of regulated articles from the 
quarantined area is restricted.

DATES: Effective on December 29, 2010, we are adopting as a final rule 
the interim rule published at 75 FR 34320-34322 on June 17, 2010.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory 
Policy Specialist, Regulations, Permits, and Import Manuals, APHIS, 
4700 River Road Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-0754.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB, Anoplophora glabripennis), an 
insect native to China, Japan, Korea, and the Isle of Hainan, is a 
destructive pest of hardwood trees. It attacks many healthy hardwood 
trees, including maple, horse chestnut, birch, poplar, willow, and elm. 
In addition, nursery stock, logs, green lumber, firewood, stumps, 
roots, branches, and wood debris of half an inch or more in diameter 
are subject to infestation. The beetle bores into the heartwood of a 
host tree, eventually killing the tree. Immature beetles bore into tree 
trunks and branches, causing heavy sap flow from wounds and sawdust 
accumulation at tree bases. They feed on, and over-winter in, the 
interiors of trees. Adult beetles emerge in the spring and summer 
months from round holes approximately three-eighths of an inch in 
diameter (about the size of a dime) that they bore through branches and 
trunks of trees. After emerging, adult beetles feed for 2 to 3 days and 
then mate. Adult females then lay eggs in oviposition sites that they 
make on the branches of trees. A new generation of ALB is produced each 
year. If this pest moves into the hardwood forests of the United 
States, the nursery, maple syrup, and forest product industries could 
experience severe economic losses. In addition, urban and forest ALB 
infestations will result in environmental damage, aesthetic 
deterioration, and a reduction of public enjoyment of recreational 
spaces.
    In an interim rule \1\ effective and published in the Federal 
Register on June 17, 2010 (75 FR 34320-34322, Docket No. APHIS-2010-
0004), we amended the Asian longhorned beetle regulations in 7 CFR part 
301 by adding a portion of Worcester County, MA, to the list of 
quarantined areas, restricting the interstate movement of regulated 
articles from that area, and updating the list of regulated articles to 
include the Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum spp).
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    \1\ To view the interim rule, go to http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2010-0004.
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    Comments on the interim rule were required to be received on or 
before August 16, 2010. We did not receive any comments. Therefore, for 
the reasons given in the interim rule, we are adopting the interim rule 
as a final rule without change.
    This action also affirms the information contained in the interim 
rule concerning Executive Order 12866 and the Regulatory Flexibility 
Act, Executive Orders 12372 and 12988, and the Paperwork Reduction Act.
    Further, for this action, the Office of Management and Budget has 
waived its review under Executive Order 12866.

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 301

    Agricultural commodities, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Transportation.

PART 301--DOMESTIC QUARANTINE NOTICES

0
Accordingly, we are adopting as a final rule, without change, the 
interim rule that amended 7 CFR part 301 and that was published at 75 
FR 34320-34322 on June 17, 2010.

    Done in Washington, DC on December 22, 2010.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-32768 Filed 12-28-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
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